Anglo-Norman Castles

Overview

Overview

Wide-ranging studies offer an in-depth analysis of castle-building 11th - 12th centuries and place castles within their broader social and political context.

The castles of the eleventh and twelfth centuries remain among the most visible symbols of the Anglo-Norman world. This collection brings together for the first time some of the most significant articles in castle studies, with contributions from experts in history, archaeology and historic buildings. Castles remain a controversial topic of academic debate and here equal weight is given to seminal articles that have defined the study of the subject while at the same time emphasising newer approaches to the fortresses of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy. The studies in this volume range from discussions of the residential and military role of the castle to architectural symbolism and royal attitudes to baronial fortification. The result is a survey that offers an in-depth analysis of castle-building during the eleventh and twelfth centuries but which also places Anglo-Norman castles within their broader social, architectural and political context.

Reviews

A very useful collection of articles [and] a representative spread of the most important topics.[...][An] essential starting point for anyone interested in the topic of castles in the High Middle Ages. CEAS NEWSLETTER

Immensely valuable. [Its] great merit is that it should be of interest well beyond this field, emphasizing that castle study is not a self-contained pocket of scholarship but has an important wider role to play in medieval studies generally. An invaluable work of reference, [it] should be on the bookshelf of any castellologist. HISTORY

The wide and diverse range of subjects make this book a fascinating read. CASEMATE